This invention is directed generally to fishing rod handles and is more specifically directed to fishing rod handles that accept a reel, such as a conventional casting or spin casting reel, mounted above the handle.
Various types of fishing rod handles have been developed to address different needs. Many types of handles have been proposed for use with spinning reels, i.e. a reel mounted below the rod handle with the line feed through eyelets on the bottom of the associated rod. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,600,259 to Palmer, a fishing rod handle for a spinning reel is disclosed which has the main portion of the handle that is grasped by the user above the spinning reel. Conventional spinning rods have handles which merely consist of an elongated extension of the rod with the reel mounted below the handle portion.
More complicated types of spinning rod handles have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,296,732 to Magnus illustrates a handle which has an upward bend before a horizontal section where the reel is mounted and has a vertically extending portion rearward of the reel. The fishing rod handle disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,461 to Williams consists of a U-shaped handle portion with one leg being along the longitudinal axis of the rod and the other leg, to which the reel is mounted, being spaced below the one leg.
Others have proposed an integrated rod and reel assembly such as the fishing rig described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,419 to Popeil. In this arrangement the reel is disposed inside an expanded handle portion with the normally grasped part of the handle rearward of the reel.
Conventional spin casting rods have a handle that is typically an elongated portion along the longitudinal axis of the rod. The handle has a rearmost portion usually made of cork or other material suited to be comfortably grasped by the user's fingers. Forward of the rearmost portion is a channel designed to receive the mounting flange of a spinning reel. A screw and clamping plate with a threaded hold that receives the screw secures the flange of the reel to the handle so that line is fed through eyelets on the top of the rod. A trigger shaped projection extends downward near the forward end of the rearmost portion which assists the user in holding the rearmost portion while being able to operate the release button with the thumb during a casting motion. While this type of handle has been widely used with spin casting reels, it is uncomfortable for many users to maintain the same grip used during casting while retrieving line, i.e. turning the crank that causes line to be retrieved into the reel.
For a right handed user of such a handle and casting reel, the reel is commonly mounted so that the crank is on the right side allowing the user to use the right hand to operate the crank. However, the right hand is also normally used to hold the rearmost portion of the handle during a cast with the right thumb used to control the reel during casting. Thus, after the cast has been completed, the user transfers the rearmost portion of the handle from the right to left hand so that the right hand can operate the crank. This is an awkward transition and becomes tiresome if casts are frequently made. Further the torque of holding the rearmost portion with the left hand while operating the crank with the right hand is undesirable.